Rūnanga Stories

In March, the first geckos retrieved from the bluffs above Rāpaki after the Christchurch earthquake, were released into their new home at Riccarton Bush. Te Hapū o Ngāti Wheke, represented by Yvette Couch-Lewis, formally handed over the kaitiakitanga of the gecko from her rohe in the Port Hills to that of Ngāi Tūāhuriri, represented by…

The He Toki ki te Mahi Apprenticeship Training Trust was launched by Prime Minister, the Rt Hon John Key at Rehua Marae in Christchurch last night. Around 200 people gathered at the marae to welcome the Prime Minister and the Hon. Te Ururoa Flavell, Minister for Maori Development and Whanau Ora, Christchurch Mayor, Leanne Dalzeil…

Fifteen members of a Ngāi Tahu student cohort have graduated from Te Kura Matatini ki Otago/Otago Polytechnic, with Bachelor of Applied Management degrees as part of the Capable NZ, Te Kura Matatini ki Otago and Te Tapuae o Rehua partnership. The degree study partnership was established in 2014 and aims to build Ngāi Tahu staff…

A University of Otago research project, which looks at how Dunedin families pass on Māori to their children has led to the development of an innovative Māori Language App, called Aki. Aki (which means to encourage) is a free Māori language vocabulary and phrase-learning app for iphones and ipads, that involves participants in an interactive…

Ngāi Tahu whānui have been challenged to think out to 2050 at today’s Hui-ā-Tau. Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu Kaiwhakahaere, Tā Mark Solomon, says that post-Settlement the iwi had prepared a robust vision to take it to 2025 but that was now only ten years away and the time had come to start thinking beyond…

To find out about cultural identity, you have to return to the home fires, to the kaik, the whānau and the whenua. Areta Wilkinson understood that when she returned to Christchurch eight years ago, driven by a desire to reconnect and find out more about her whakapapa. Areta (Ngāi Tahu –Ngāti Irakehu) was always aware…

When the massive beds of naturally-occurring macrophytes disappeared from Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere in the 1960s, it was a turning point for the quality of the lake’s water. Known for their ability to buffer wave action, to take up nutrients, to improve water quality and to provide diverse habitats for fish and wildlife, submerged macrophyte systems…

New research from Victoria University of Wellington is showing the extent to which information technology is becoming culturally important for Māori. For her Master of Information Management, Pikihuia Reihana investigated what she calls ‘Ngāti Pukamata’, or the ‘Facebook Tribe’, a virtual iwi of Māori spread across the globe, who maintain contact with their cultural roots…